Gearing up for a weekend away? Well, Dubai Airport Tunnel is going to be closed from 12am to 6am on Friday morning for a mock emergency drill.

The drill will be starting at 2am, however the tunnel will be cordoned off from midnight in the direction of Qusais and Sharjah.

If you’re looking for an alternative route, motorists have been advised to use Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Ittihad Road instead.

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Ittihad Road can be seen in red, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in blue and the Dubai Airport Tunnel in pink:

Dubai Airport Tunnel

Organised by the Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) Crises Management Team, the drill will involve a total of eleven government and semi-government bodies.

The groups involved in the drill include the National Emergency, Crises and Disaster Management Authority; Emergency, Crises and Disaster Management Team; Directorate General of Civil Defence; Dubai Police; Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services; Dubai Municipality; Dubai Electricity and Water Authority; Dubai Health Authority; Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Emirates Airline and Dubai Airports.

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Speaking on the scenario set to take place in the drill, Ahmed Hashem Bahroyzan, Head of Crises Management Team cum CEO of Licensing Agency, RTA said, “The drill would be executed on the assumption that two of the vehicles, one of them loaded with inflammable materials have crashed in the tunnel resulting in a situation warranting rapid deployment of RTA’s Crises Management Team as well as an effective and direct intervention of the said 11 government and semi-government entities.”

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He continued, “This drill forms part of a specific plan of RTA’s Crises Management Team, and complements the ongoing cooperation with other public and semi-public entities towards the implementation of uniform security and safety standards in sensitive infrastructures, facilities and districts as well as vital entities and service-providing entities in Dubai. The drill is also aimed to monitor the responsiveness and efficiency of stakeholders in discharging the tasks entrusted to them.”

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